Acute and chronic leukemias are malignant tumors of the hematopoietic system. If a sharp tumor growth of undifferentiated cells has begun, then this is an acute form of the disease, and chronic is diagnosed when cancer cells act on immature hematopoietic ones. This type is characterized mainly by a slow course and is more common in older people. For several years, a benign course of the disease is possible. During this period, the number of neutrophilic leukocytes or lymphocytes increases in the blood, depending on the type of leukemia. Leukemic infiltration affects the bone marrow, lymph nodes, kidneys, myocardium and blood vessels, in which leukemic rhinestones and blood clots can form, leading to heart attacks. During the period when the benign course of chronic leukemia is replaced by a malignant one, blast forms of cells (lymphoblasts, myeloblasts, erythroblasts) appear in the hematopoietic organs, blood and tissues, the number of which is rapidly increasing. The number of leukocytes in the peripheral blood also increases rapidly. Blast is cominga crisis that often leads to the death of patients, but most often patients die from infectious complications.
Chronic leukemia disrupts the normal synthesis of immunoglobulins, leads to a sharp inhibition of the immune system, resulting in a secondary infection, which often causes death of patients.
The symptoms of the early stages of the disease are so mild that they can be attributed to ordinary fatigue, accompanied by weakness, ailments due to stressful situations, fatigue at work, etc. In the future, infectious diseases may become more frequent, the cause of which is a decrease in immunity. All these symptoms are so common that chronic leukemia can remain undiagnosed for a long time. When diagnosing this disease, you should never self-medicate! You can only pay special attention to maintaining the protective functions of the body, increasing immunity and minimizing stressful situations. With the correct organization of the regime, he althy nutrition, the disease may not manifest itself for a long period, and the general condition and ability to work for a long time remain normal.
Chronic leukemia is diagnosed using a general and biochemical blood test. After confirming the disease, a bone marrow puncture is performed.
Effective treatment is anticancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. With a successful outcome, the disease can go into remission, the symptoms disappear, and the patient can return to normal.life. Bone marrow transplantation is effective in chronic myeloid leukemia. At the same time, all of its cells are first destroyed with the help of radiation therapy, and then restored by transplantation from a donor.
Modern medicine finds it difficult to say exactly why a person develops such a serious disease as chronic leukemia, but, according to leading experts, there are some factors that may affect the onset of the disease:
- presence of hereditary chromosomal defects;
- exposure to the body of radiation;
- action of chemical factors (abuse of drugs in the treatment of other cancers);
- frequent infectious viral diseases (may develop chronic lymphocytic leukemia).
Every person should be responsible for their own he alth and life. Timely access to a doctor and passing regular medical examinations will allow you to identify various diseases at an early stage, which increases the chances of a successful cure.
